benefits of laughter Archives

Social worker’s four-year drive to prove that laughter truly is the best medicine has finally brought her international recognition.

Dr Gita Suraj-Narayan, 56, and her daughter Sheroma, 26, from South Africa, have recently received international recognition for their research on the benefits of laughter therapy for stroke victims. Their work has impressed the members of the social welfare department at Ryukoku University Junior College in Japan so much that they intend to use their techniques of laughter-yoga to help people deal with the shock of the recent earthquakes in Japan.

Laughter Yoga helps with the pangs in a grief journey

Laugh for no reason? You just need to be willing to try. Participants in nurse Patty Freier's grief seminar at Childers Place had lost spouses, children, a brother or a sister an did just that. They got silly, let it go and gave themselves permission to laugh. "I liked it. I had one of those days where it was hard to stop crying, and I haven't had one of those in awhile," said Dianna Price after they were finished. "This was really good for me. Your mental outlook begins to change."

News: Australians Say We Love Laughter Yoga!

Sydney, Australia: I walked into my first laughter yoga class expecting to see a hippie in a tie dyed shirt and leggings. I did not expect my yoga teacher to be a lawyer. And I certainly didn't expect to be rolling around on the floor laughing with a bunch of people I'd never met before. But that's exactly what happened.

News: Cancer patients embrace laughter therapy sessions

Brenda Crook paws the air as she stands laughing with eyes wide open, her tongue out and a red foam ball pinching her nose. About 10 other clown-nosed people surround her and mimic the same "Lion Yoga Pose." The image seems absurd, but Crook, 34, needs a little silliness in her life. She is battling breast cancer at Cancer Treatment Centers of America at the Western Regional Medical Center in Goodyear.

Laugh Out Loud! It’s Good For You.

Can one be happy and stay positive in such a stressful and challenging world? My friends and I regularly answer to the top of our lungs with an affirmative “yes!” at the end of every laughter session we have together, often times daily. We laugh for no particular reason except that of feeling happier and healthier. No joke.

Relationships: homegrown laughter may be what ailing couples need most

Robert Provine says that homegrown laughter may be what ailing couples need most. Laughter is first and foremost a social signal that binds people together. It synchronizes the brains of speaker and listener so that they are emotionally attuned.